Friday, July 14, 2017

Make the Most out of your Recovery

Recovery might be the last
thing you want to hear while making your training plan. Taking a day off, or
decreasing your mileage can feel like you are not making any progress, but
recovery days are necessary in order for your muscles to be able to perform
their best. Here is our guide to help you master the recovery days in your busy
training schedule.

Protein! Carbs! Protein!

Protein rebuilds your
muscles while they recover. Adding protein into your recovery will help
alleviate the soreness of your muscles. That’s why almost any article you read
geared towards recovery will remind you that protein is your best friend for
recovery. Try eating protein after your next workout. Carbohydrates help
replenish the energy that your body spent during exercise. Ignoring carbs means
your ignoring the energy your body needs for the rest of the day.

Set Alarms to Snooze

Sleeping well every night is
key to the recovery of your muscles. Sleep is the time your body works to
repair your muscles, which means if you don’t get enough sleep your body
doesn’t have enough time for essential repairs. Prioritize your sleep during
your rest days to help your body replenish muscles.

Stretch

A post-workout stretch
benefits your body in two ways; it helps prevent muscle soreness and increases
your flexibility. Aim to stretch for 30 minutes after your workout. This will
prevent stiffness in your muscles and get blood pumping through them, which
speeds up your recovery process.

Massages and Foam Rollers

Arguably the best part of
any recovery is when you treat your muscles to a massage. The easiest way to
comb out your muscles from any knots is to grab your trusted foam roller and
use it on the areas that leave you the most sore. This helps relieve muscle
soreness by reducing the tension from knots that form when you workout. It also
promotes blood flow to your muscles, which gets oxygen flow back into them
making you less sore in the days to come. On occasion, treat yourself and your
muscles to a professional massage. They will be able to target the problem
areas your foam roller might not be able to completely resolve.

Wearing compression socks or
sleeves during training can help you start relieving muscle soreness. Compression
gear helps promote blood flow, which means more oxygen to your muscles. If you
are on a recovery day you do not want to wear sleeves, but you can wear
compression socks on your recovery day. Some people like to keep their
compression socks on after they train and sleep with them on into their
recovery day. If you find that your legs are unreasonably sore after your
workout, try compression garments and see the difference.

Focus on Form

Recovery days don’t mean you
halt all motion, but modify workouts to be easier while your muscles repair
themselves. This is the perfect time to focus on your form and technique in
every workout you do during recovery. Can’t quite get a hang of bilateral
breathing in the pool? Train this technique during recovery time when setting
your PR for swim laps is not your priority. Maybe cycling isn’t your strong
section of the race. Try practicing positioning your body to be the most
aerodynamic on the bike. Training your technique during your easier recovery
workouts will pay off when you are full speed ahead and cannot dedicate as much
focus on your technique.

Rest

Be careful to not overdue
training in your recovery days. It’s best to listen to your body. If it needs a
day off, take a day off of all workouts and relax. If you over train your
efforts will not be rewarded, because your muscles will have no time to regain
the nutrients they need in order to perform at their best.

Recovery days are essential
to your body. Whether you take a rest day or take the workout easy, these days
are necessary to help you achieve your race day goals. It’s not just the
training, or the racing, but also the recovery that helps you succeed.